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Are there really red sands in Iceland?

The short answer is no. Well, maybe some volcanic red stained sand in hot spring areas; but not at the beach. What we have instead is one of the most beautiful and memorable golden sand beaches you’ll ever have the pleasure to visit. It’s called Rauðasandur and it means ‘Red Sand’.

The short answer is no. Well, maybe some volcanic red stained sand in hot spring areas; but not at the beach. What we have instead is one of the most beautiful and memorable golden sand beaches you’ll ever have the pleasure to visit. It’s called Rauðasandur and it means ‘Red Sand’.

Bonfire on Rauðasandur

Rauða- sandur (sometimes spelled Rauði- sandur) is all the more impressive for the fact that Iceland is famous for its black sand beaches. We have lots of them. And grey ones too. But very, very few yellow, golden or white beaches like you see in the Caribbean or the Seychelles. It’s just as well then that our most famous yellow beach is really quite special.

Why is it called Red Sand when it is actually yellow? Probably for the same reason that the Icelandic for egg yolk translates directly into English as ‘egg red’; some sort of national color blindness, perhaps?

Well anyway, about the place itself: Rauða- sandur is in the southern Westfjords and looks out south over Breiða- fjörður. At 10 kilometres it is pretty long, and it is also pretty wide. In fact you can walk out across the beach (especially at low tide) and wonder whether or not you will ever even see the sea. If you persist, you will – and it’s a great place to go for a swim or a paddle due to how gently it gets deeper and due to the huge natural sand barriers reaching out into the sea. The strange sort of harbour they create keeps the sea stiller and allows it to get a bit warmer than surrounding waters.

Behind the beach there is lush meadowland, complete with sheep and birds; there are a couple of farms, a small café, a campsite and the site of a nationally-infamous nineteenth Century double murder. Not a lot else. Just peace, fresh air and mountains.

Sheep walking on Rauðasandur

Did we forget to mention the mountains? How very remiss of us. The mountains form a mightily impressive natural curtain behind the sea, the beach and the meadows. You won’t fail to notice them; but you will fail if you try to not photograph them.

Unfortunately you will certainly notice them as you traverse the road over them, as it is not only one of the most beautiful, but also one of the bumpiest gravel roads in this Solar System. And if you’ve ever visited Mars, you know that’s really saying something.

Rauðasandur

Rauðasandur is a stone’s throw from allegedly the best bird cliff in all of Europe, Látrabjarg. Take the time to explore Rauðasandur on the way – it’s a detour you won’t regret (even if your car’s suspension does).